"The Jewish people as a whole will be its own Messiah. It will attain world domination by the dissolution of other races...and by the establishment of a world republic in which everywhere the Jews will exercise the privilege of citizenship. In this New World Order the Children of Israel...will furnish all the leaders without encountering opposition..." (Karl Marx in a letter to Baruch Levy, quoted in Review de Paris, June 1, 1928, p. 574)

Sunday, 16 June 2013

The U.S. is Channeling Chemical Weapons to Al Qaeda in Syria, Obama is a Liar and a Terrorist

Who has Crossed the "Red Line"? Barack Obama and John Kerry
are Supporting a Terrorist Organization on the State Department List

US-NATO Are Training “Opposition” Rebels in the Use of Chemical
Weapons
The chemical weapons accusations are fabricated. In a bitter irony, the
evidence amply confirms that the chemical weapons are being used not by
Syrian government forcesbut by the US supported Al Qaeda
rebels.
In a twisted logic whereby realities are turned upside down, the Syrian
government is being accused of the atrocities committed by the US sponsored Al
Qaeda affiliated rebels.
The Western media is feeding disinformation into the news chain, casually
refuting its own news reports. Confirmed by various sources including CNN, the
Western military alliance has not only made chemical weapons available to the Al
Nusrah Front, it has also sent in military contractors and special forces to
train the rebels:

The training [in chemical weapons], which is taking place in Jordan
and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles
and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources.
Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels
to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the
officials cautioned against assuming all are American.
(CNN, December 09, 2012, emphasis added

While the news report does not confirm the identity of the defense
contractors, the official statements suggest a close contractual relationship to
the Pentagon:

The US decision to hire unaccountable defense contractors to train Syrian
rebels to handle stockpiles of chemical weapons seems dangerously
irresponsible in the extreme, especially considering how inept Washington
has so far been at making sure only trustworthy, secular rebels – to the
extent they exist – receive their aid and the weapons that allies in the
Gulf Arab states have been providing.It also feeds accusations that the Syrian Foreign Ministry
recently made that the US is working to frame the Syrian regime as having
used or prepared for chemical warfare.
“What raises concerns about this news circulated by the media is our
serious fear that some of the countries backing terrorism and
terrorists might provide the armed terrorist groups with chemical weapons
and claim that it was the Syrian government that used the weapons,”
the letters said.”( John Glaser,
Us Defense Contractors Training Syrian Rebels, Antiwar.com, December 10,
2012, emphasis addded)

Lets be under no illusion. This is not a rebel training exercise in
non-proliferation of chemical weapons.
While president Obama accuses Bashar Al Assad, the US-NATO military alliance
is channeling chemical weapons to Al Nusrah, a terrorist organization on the
State Department blacklist.
In all likelihood, the training of Al Nusrah rebels in the use of chemical
weapons was undertaken by private military contractors.The United Nations
Independent Mission confirms that Rebel Forces Are in Possession of Sarin Nerve
Gas While Washington points its finger at
president Bashar al Assad, a United Nations independent commission of inquiry
confirmed in May 2013 that the rebels rather than the government have chemical
weapons in their possession and are using sarin nerve against the civilian
population:

U.N. human rights
investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria’s civil war and
medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent
sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday.

The United Nations independent commission of
inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used
chemical weapons, which are banned under international law, said commission
member Carla Del Ponte. [see image right]

“Our investigators have been in neighboring
countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to
their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete
suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the
way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview with
Swiss-Italian television.

According to Turkey’s state media agency
Zaman, the Turkish General Directorate of Security (Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü):

[Police have] ceased 2 kg of sarin gas in
the city of Adana in the early hours of yesterday morning. The chemical
weapons were in the possession of Al Nusra terrorists believed to have been
heading for Syria.

Sarin gas is a colourless, odorless substance which is extremely
difficult to detect. The gas is banned under the 1993 Chemical Weapons
Convention.

The EGM [Turkish Police] identified 12 members of the AL Nusra
terrorist cell and also ceased fire arms and digital equipment. This is the
second major official confirmation of the use of chemical weapons by
Al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria after UN inspector Carla Del Ponte’s
recent statement confirming the use of chemical weapons by the
Western-backed terrorists in Syria.

The Turkish police are currently conducting further investigations into
the operations of Al-Qaeda linked groups in Turkey. (For further details see
Gearóid Ó Colmáin, Turkish Police find Chemical Weapons in the Possession of
Al Nusra Terrorists heading for Syria, Global
Research.ca, May 30, 2013)

Who has Crossed the “Red Line”? Barack Obama and John Kerry are
Supporting a Terrorist Organization on the State Department List

What is unfolding is a diabolical scenario –which is an integral part of US
military planning– namely a situation where opposition terrorists of the al
Nusrah Front advised by Western defense contractors are actually in possession
of chemical weapons.

The West claims that it is coming to the rescue of the Syrian people, whose
lives are allegedly threatened by Bashar Al Assad.

Obama has not only “Crossed the Red Line”, he is supporting Al Qaeda. He is
a Liar and a Terrorist.
The forbidden truth, which the Western media has failed to reveal, is that
the US-NATO- Israel military alliance is not only supporting the Al Nusrah
Front, it is also making chemical weapons available to its proxy
“opposition” rebel forces.

The broader issue is: Who is a threat to the Syrian people? Syria’s President
Bashar al Assad or America’s President Barack Obama, who has ordered the
recruitment and training of terrorist forces which are on the US State
Department blacklist.

In a bitter irony, according to the US State Department Bureau of
Counter-terrorism, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, not to
mention Senator John McCain could be held responsible for “knowingly
providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources
to, or engaging in transactions with, al-Nusrah Front”:

The Department of State has amended the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)
and Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 designations of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) to
include the following new aliases: al-Nusrah Front, Jabhat al-Nusrah,
Jabhet al-Nusra, The Victory Front, and Al-Nusrah Front for the People of
the Levant. The consequences of adding al-Nusrah Front as a new
alias for AQI include a prohibition against knowingly providing, or
attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to, or
engaging in transactions with, al-Nusrah Front, and the freezing of
all property and interests in property of the organization that are in the
United States, or come within the United States or the control of U.S.
persons. (emphasis added)

The State Department advisory acknowledges that from November 2011 to
December 2012:

“Al-Nusrah Front has claimed nearly 600 attacks – ranging from more than
40 suicide attacks to small arms and improvised explosive device operations
– in major city centers including Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah, Dara, Homs, Idlib,
and Dayr al-Zawr. During these attacks numerous innocent Syrians have been
killed. ….

The advisory also confirms that “the United States takes this action [of
blacklisting the Al Nusrah Front] in the context of our overall support for the
Syrian people. … ”

What it fails to mention is that the Obama administration continues to
channel money and weapons to Al Nusrah in blatant defiance of US
counter-terrorism legislation.

Washington’s “Go-Between”: General Salem Idriss

Washington’s “Go Between” is the Head of the FSA Supreme Military Council
Brigadier General Salem Idriss [right], who is permanent liaison with the Al
Nusrah military commanders.

Secretary of State John Kerry meets representatives of the Syrian opposition.
US officials meet with General Idriss. The latter, acting on behalf of the
Pentagon, channels money and weapons to the terrorists. This model of supporting
Al Nusra is similar to that implemented in Afghanistan whereby the Pakistani
military government of General Zia Ul Haq would funnel weapons to jihadist
“Freedom Fighters” in the heyday of the Soviet-Afghan war.

US support to terrorists is always sent through a trusted intermediary.
According to a Obama administration official: “While the United States may have
leverage with General Idris, it has no ability to control some jihadists — like
the Nusra Front, which is also fighting Syrian government forces.” (New
York Times, May 23, 2013)

John McCain Enters Syria, Mingles with US Sponsored Terrorists
Meanwhile, Senator John McCain “entered Syria [early June] from the
country’s border with Turkey and stayed there for several hours … McCain met
with assembled leaders of Free Syrian Army units in both Turkey and Syria.” See
image below John McCain together with General Salem Idriss)

The Contradictory Role of the United Nations Security Council
In late May 2013, the UN Security Council added Al Nusrah to the UNSC “Al-Qaida
Sanctions List.” Yet at the same time, the Security Council decision
casually dismissed the fact, amply documented, that three permanent members of
the Council, namely Britain, France and the US continue to provide military aid
to the Jabbat Al Nusrah Front, in defiance of international law and the UN
Charter.ANNEX 1

THE TERRORIST DESIGNATION OF AL
NUSRAH BY THE US STATE DEPARTMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesperson December
11, 2012 STATEMENT BY VICTORIA NULAND,
SPOKESPERSONhttp://translations.state.gov/st/english/texttrans/2012/12/20121211139845.html#ixzz2WDKARO9nTerrorist Designations of the al-Nusrah
Front as an Alias for al-Qa’ida in Iraq The Department of State has amended the
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Executive Order (E.O.) 13224
designations of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) to include the following new aliases:
al-Nusrah Front, Jabhat al-Nusrah, Jabhet al-Nusra, The Victory Front, and Al-Nusrah
Front for the People of the Levant. The Department of State previously
designated AQI as an FTO under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist under E.O. 13224 on October 15, 2004. The
consequences of adding al-Nusrah Front as a new alias for AQI include a
prohibition against knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide,
material support or resources to, or engaging in transactions with, al-Nusrah
Front, and the freezing of all property and interests in property of the
organization that are in the United States, or come within the United States or
the control of U.S. persons. Since November 2011, al-Nusrah Front has
claimed nearly 600 attacks – ranging from more than 40 suicide attacks to small
arms and improvised explosive device operations – in major city centers
including Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah, Dara, Homs, Idlib, and Dayr al-Zawr. During
these attacks numerous innocent Syrians have been killed. Through these attacks,
al-Nusrah has sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian
opposition while it is, in fact, an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of
the Syrian people for its own malign purposes. AQI emir Abu Du’a is in control
of both AQI and al-Nusrah. Abu Du’a was designated by the State Department under
E.O. 13224 on October 3, 2011, and by the United Nations under UN Security
Council Resolution 1267 on October 5, 2011. Abu Du’a also issues strategic
guidance to al-Nusrah’s emir, Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, and tasked him to begin
operations in Syria. The United States takes this action in the
context of our overall support for the Syrian people. We have provided
approximately $50 million in non-lethal assistance to the unarmed civilian
opposition and nearly $200 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected
by the violence in Syria. The violent, sectarian vision of al-Nusrah is at odds
with the aspirations of the Syrian people, including the overwhelming majority
of the Syrian opposition, who seek a free, democratic, and inclusive Syria and
have made clear their desire for a government that respects and advances
national unity, dignity, human rights, and equal protection under the law –
regardless of faith, ethnicity, or gender. Extremism and terrorist ideology have
no place in a post-Asad Syria, and all responsible Syrians should speak out
against al-Qa’ida and other extremist elements. By opting for the use of force
against its own people, the Asad regime has created the circumstances that
attract the violent extremists of al Qa’ida, who seek to exploit civil strife
for their own purposes. The sooner the political transition to a post-Asad Syria
begins, the better it will be for the Syrian people and the region.

ANNEX 2UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
Department of Public Information •
News and Media Division • New York

Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Amends Entry of One Entity on
Its Sanctions List

On 30 May 2013,
the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999)
and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities
approved the amendments specified with underline in the entry below on its
Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets
freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security
Council resolution 2083 (2012) adopted under
Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

B. Entities and other groups and
undertakings associated with Al-Qaida

QE.J.115.04. Name: AL-QAIDA
IN IRAQName (original script): القاعده في العراقA.k.a.: a) AQI b)
al-Tawhidc) the Monotheism and
Jihad Group d) Qaida of the Jihad in the Land of the Two
Rivers e) Al-Qaida of Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers
f) The Organization of Jihad’s Base in the Country of the
Two Rivers g) The Organization Base of Jihad/Country of the
Two Rivers h) The Organization
Base of Jihad/Mesopotamia i)TanzimQa’idat
Al-Jihad fiBilad
al-Rafidaynj)TanzeemQa’idat al
Jihad/Bilad al Raafidainik)Jama’at Al-TawhidWa’al-Jihad l) JTJ m)
Islamic State of Iraq n) ISI o) al-Zarqawi
networkp)Jabhat
al Nusrahq)Jabhet al-Nusrar) Al-Nusrah Front s)
The Victory Front t) Al-Nusrah
Front for the People of the Levant (ﺍﻠﺷﺍﻢﻷﻫﻝ
ﺍﻟﻨﺻﺮﺓﺠﺑﻬﺔ
) u) Islamic State in Iraq and the LevantF.k.a.:naAddress:naListed on: 18 Oct. 2004
(amended on 2 Dec. 2004, 5 Mar. 2009, 13 Dec. 2011,
30 May 2013) Other information: Review pursuant to
Security Council resolution 1822 (2008) was concluded on 25 May 2010.

The Committee’s Al-Qaida Sanctions List is
updated regularly on the basis of relevant information provided by Member
States and international and regional organizations. This is the thirteenth
update of the List in 2013. An updated List is accessible on the Committee’s
website at the following URL:
http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml.

ANNEX 3 TRANSCRIPT OF STATE
DEPARTMENT PRESS BRIEFING CONCERNING AL NUSRAHSenior Administration Officials on
Terrorist Designations of the al-Nusrah Front as an Alias for al-Qaida in Iraq
Special Briefing Senior
Administration Officials Via Teleconference Washington, DC December 11, 2012 -
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/12/201797.htmMODERATOR: Good morning everyone, and thank
you for joining this call this morning. Today, we’re going to have a background
call with three senior Administration officials. We have – Senior Administration
Official One will be [Senior Administration Official One]. Senior Administration
Official Number Two is [Senior Administration Official Two]. And then [Senior
Administration Official Three] is our Senior Administration Official Three. So they’re going to talk about some of the
designations and then take a few questions. So we’ll start with our Senior
Administration Official Number One, over to you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Okay.
The State Department has formally amended al-Qaida in Iraq as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization and Executive Order 13224 designations to include the
alias al-Nusrah Front. Al-Qaida in Iraq, or AQI, was first designated by the
State Department in October of 2004. By way of background, in 2011, the AQI
emir, Abu Du’a, tasked Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani to establish al-Nusrah Front in
Syria. Abu Du’a provides strategic guidance to al-Jawlani, al-Nusrah’s leader. Since November 2011, al-Nusrah Front has
claimed hundreds of attacks, nearly 600, in major city centers across Syria in
which numerous innocent Syrians have been injured and killed. AQI has dispatched
money, people, and materiel from Iraq to Syria over the past year to attack
Syrian forces both on its own initiative and at the request of AQI’s
facilitation network members in Syria. Al-Nusrah Front has sought to portray itself
as part of a legitimate Syrian opposition, but today’s actions are intended to
expose them and make clear that the United States believes that al-Nusrah’s
extremist ideology has no role in a post-Assad Syria. Among the consequences of
today’s actions is a prohibition against knowingly providing or attempting or
conspiring to provide material support or resources to or engaging in
transactions with al-Nusrah Front. It’s important to note that the designation
of al-Nusrah Front does not mean we have changed our view regarding Assad as the
leader of a state that has been a designated state sponsor of terrorism since
1979. Today, we’ve also sanctioned pro-Assad regime elements, and my colleague
from the Treasury Department will speak more specifically to these sanctions and
to the designation of two key members of al-Nusrah Front. Over. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Good
morning. This is [Senior Administration Official Two] from the Treasury
Department. Thank you. Today, we have taken a number of actions alongside and in
coordination with our colleagues at the State Department in order to continue
and intensify our pressure against the Assad regime, its affiliated militias,
and to take action against terrorist leaders who are active in Syria. Since the beginning of the uprising in Syria,
we have been working to powerfully and swiftly intensify sanctions against the
Assad regime, to isolate the Syrian Government, hasten Assad’s fall, and to
encourage those within the Syrian Government to abandon the regime’s campaign of
violence. We have also used targeted sanctions to expose and combat the
interventions of Iran as well as terrorist groups like Hezbollah which have been
actively supporting Assad’s regime. The actions we took today fall into basically
two buckets: actions against two militias that have been perpetrating violence
in coordination with and in affiliation with the Assad government, and then
actions in concert with the al-Nusrah action that the State Department has
announced to target two main leaders of the Nusrah Front. I’ll take those in
turn. Since the beginning of the unrest in Syria,
the Shabiha have operated as a direct action arm of the Government of Syria and
its security services, with Shabiha units providing support to units from
designated security services, such as the Syrian Air Force intelligence and
Syrian military intelligence, that have been among the most active in the
violence. Ayman Jaber is currently a Shabiha leader responsible for directing
Shabiha operations in Latakia, Syria on behalf of the Syrian regime and is
working with the Ministry of Defense and other senior regime officials,
including Maher al-Assad, to procure weapons for the Shabiha units under his
command. His brother, who we are also designating
today, Mohammad Jaber, arranged for the transportation of pro-Syrian regime
thugs from the Shabiha to Turkey in order to attack anti-Syrian regime persons
there. The other pro-regime militia that we are
sanctioning today is Jaysh al-Sha’bi, which operates throughout Syria and has
been particularly active in Damascus and Aleppo where the militia has
supplemented Syrian Government forces operations against the opposition. Jaysh
al-Sha’bi was created and continues to be funded and maintained with support
from Iran and Hezbollah, and it is modeled after the Iranian Basij militia,
which has proven so deadly and effective at using violence and intimidation to
suppress political dissent in Iraq. In addition to our actions against the
regime proxies, Treasury is targeting Nusrah Front leaders Maysar Ali Musa
Abdallah al-Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab. Al-Juburi is the religious and
military commander for the Nusrah Front in eastern Syria. He moved from Mosul,
Iraq to Syria in late 2011 with the objectives of transferring al-Qaida’s
ideology and techniques to Syria and forming likeminded terrorist groups. Khattab was involved with the formation of
the Nusrah Front for AQI and has communicated with AQI leadership to coordinate
the movement of funds and weapons for the Nusrah Front. Khattab also works
closely with al-Qaida-linked facilitators to provide logistical support to the
Nusrah Front. All of these actions are a part of our ongoing efforts to target
actors within Syria working to frustrate the desires of the Syrian people to end
the violence and to realize a representative government. We will continue to
target the thugs that have worked with the Assad militias, just as we will the
terrorists who try to cloak themselves in the flag of the legitimate opposition. And with that, I’ll turn it over to [Senior
Administration Official Three]. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Thank
you very much. The steps that we are announcing today in Washington really are
the result of growing American concern about the escalation of violence in
Syria. First of all, let’s be clear: The Syrian
regime started this violence by brutalizing what was a peaceful protest
movement. We all know that. We all understand that. And the Syrian regime has
used aircraft, it has used artillery, and it appears that it has even used
missile to attack the Syrian population and to attack what was a peaceful
protest movement. And we have considered the Syrian regime to be a State Sponsor
of Terrorism since 1979. We’ve taken additional steps against the regime in
terms of sanctions and in terms of isolating the Syrian regime and putting
pressure on it internationally and economically. Today’s actions against the Shabiha, against
the Jaysh al-Sha’bi – the People’s Army as they call it – against people like
Ayman Jaber and Mohammad Jaber are both a recognition of the violence that the
regime is inflicting on the Syrian people, and then it also repeats and
emphasizes our message that the Syrian regime needs to stop that, and Assad
needs to step aside and a political transition needs to begin. But when we think about that political
transition, extremist groups that are denouncing the government and attacking
the government, they themselves, as extremists, have no role in that transition
and in a future Syria. The protest movement that started out peacefully that I
mentioned – it started out peacefully in February and March of 2011 – has always
called for a tolerant Syrian society which is free, which respects the human
rights of all Syrians equally. That was in the national vision statement that
the Syrian opposition published in Cairo on July 3rd, 2012 – that is to say
about five months ago, five and half months ago – and in other statements which
Syrian opposition figures have announced. But Nusrah, as [Senior Administration
Official One] was just talking about, and as [Senior Administration Official
Two] was saying, the Nusrah Front is directly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, and we
know what its ideology is. And we know that the Nusrah Front has
denounced the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s founding, that it rejects the vision
statement that was issued in Cairo, that I mentioned, of a tolerant society, and
insists that instead of elections there must be an Islamic state imposed upon
Syria. And the Nusrah Front, extremists like it, have no place in the future of
the Syrian society, in a tolerant society. And so we have made clear that Nusrah
also is an extremist organization and it has to be isolated and that more
moderate forces, more forces that believe in tolerance as a model for Syrian
society, they need to carry the work of the political transition forward. I think I’ll stop there. MODERATOR: Thank you. At this time, Operator,
we’ll be ready to take questions for our three senior Administration officials. OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish
to ask a question, please press * followed by 1 on your touchtone phone. Once
again, for any questions, please press *1 at this time. One moment, please.
And we’ll go to the line of Ilhan Tanir with
Turkish Daily. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Thanks so much. Quick couple
questions. One of them is: How is the reaction so far from the Syrian – other
Syrian opposition groups? As far as we can see, there is a lot of complaining
about this decision on Twitter and social networks that – argument is while the
U.S. Government has been talking, Nusrah Front is coming here to fight, and
basically they are fighting with the Assad regime, and die. Can you give us what kind of reaction and see
if the Nusrah Front is fighting with the Assad regime? I just don’t understand
what kind of message is that you mentioned. The message is to Assad regime to
leave, but you are labeling his organization as a terrorist organization while
they are fighting with the Assad regime. Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I
guess I’ll take my first stab at that. I don’t know if my colleagues want to
join in later. I will let the Syrian opposition representatives speak for
themselves. I don’t need to speak on their behalf. It’s not proper. What I would
say is that the United States and other Friends of the Syrian People have long
acknowledged the Syrian people’s right to self-defense and to defend themselves
against the brutality of the Syrian regime. There is no question about that, and
we have been saying that for many, many months. However, acknowledging the right of self-defense
is not itself a justification for extremism. And I want to underline here that
many people in Syria are afraid of extremism. Many people in Syria are not
fighting for an extremist cause. Rather, they are fighting to have their dignity
respected, they are fighting to have their human rights respected, and they do
not want – and the United States and the Friends of Syria do not want one
terrorist regime to be replaced by a new extremist model. Rather, it is
important that Syrians who believe in tolerance, Syrians who believe in the
respect for the human rights of all Syrian citizens be the ones who move the
political transition forward. And so there is no contradiction. Instead,
what is important is to understand that extremists fighting the Assad regime are
still extremists, and they have no place in the political transition that will
come. Bashar al-Assad will depart. If he departs today, it’s better than if he
departs tomorrow. There is too much bloodshed. But extremists should not dictate
that political transition. OPERATOR: You do have a question from the
line of Michael Gordon with The New York Times. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Yes, this is primarily for [Senior
Administration Official Three], but the others can chime in. Could you please
explain what practical, tangible effect this edict on the Nusrah Front might
have? It stated that it would prohibit American or American entities from
providing support. Are there any such Americans who are providing support? And
if not, how will this affect those who have been providing support who are
probably sympathetic with this group? And lastly, tomorrow there’ll be a meeting in
Morocco of various opposition groups and Friends of Syria. Do any members of
this political opposition gathering in Morocco have influence or control over
armed opposition elements in Syria today? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE:
Michael, I’m going to let my colleagues answer the question about the practical
and tangible effects because they’re more involved in the immediate
implementation of the measures. But on the – with respect to your last question
about members of the Syrian opposition who will come to Morocco for the Friends
of the Syrian People meeting, what I would say on that is that there are not
members of armed groups represented at this meeting that I am aware of. However, there are people here who definitely
coordinate with armed groups, with the Free Syrian Army, and who have regular
contact with elements of the Free Syrian Army. That is not to say they are
giving instructions to it; they do not. It is not to say that they are telling
it what to do or what to say in the international field; they are not. In a
sense, the Free Syrian Army is a separate organization from, for example, the
Syrian National Council or the Syrian Opposition Coalition. They are separate
organizations. But there certainly are communications between the two, and there
are members of the Syrian political opposition here in Morocco who contact and
talk to people from the Free Syrian Army. I’m – I’ll turn it over to my colleagues to
talk about the practical and tangible effects and your other question. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Okay, so
I think I need to go next. This is [Senior Administration Official One].
Michael, as we said at the top, the technical impact of the – adding al-Nusrah
Front as a new alias for AQI, includes this prohibition on knowingly provided
material support and the freezing of all property and interest in property in
the United States or that come within the United States under the control of
U.S. persons. So there are some practical sanctioning effects of the
designation, and it can be a powerful tool over the long run, for law
enforcement purposes. But I think one of the primary effects of
this designation is to really expose the presence of al-Nusrah Front, an
organization that has been established by the leadership of AQI in Syria, and
its activities there. SENIOAR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: If I
could just add – this is [Senior Administration Official Two] – exposing the
operations and the identities of al-Nusrah’s leaders is a key objective here. So
I just wanted to underscore that. Having these individuals on a blacklist has a
practical impact beyond just the direct implications of U.S. law. It means for
individuals who have demonstrated that they desire to travel back and forth
across borders, actions like these in the past have frustrated that ability,
have exposed them to being interdicted and detained. It also means that as al-Nusrah tries to
wrap itself in the legitimacy of the opposition that does reflect the Syrian’s
people desires, we have called them out, and for those who are seeking to
support the legitimate opposition of the Syrian people, we have drawn a bright
line. So I think there are very real sort of second-order effects to today’s
actions as well. OPERATOR: You do have a question from the
line of Margaret Brennan with CBS News. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Hi. This is a question for [Senior
Administration Official Three]. Al-Nusrah Front is viewed as an effective, very
lethal fighting force inside of Syria. When it comes to what’s actually
happening on the ground right now, what does today’s action do in terms of in
any way lessening what they control or what they influence inside of Syria?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE:
Al-Nusrah Front is one of many groups that are fighting the Syrian regime now.
It is not the only one. And in fact, it is a minority. Its influence has grown
over recent months, but it still represents a minority element within the
broader armed opposition to the Assad regime. So I don’t want to leave any kind
of impressions that we are in any way acting against the broader Free Syrian
Army, which is a much bigger organization. And I’d be very clear we talk – I myself talk
to the Free Syrian Army, and we have talked to them about things like the code
of conduct and how to treat prisoners, et cetera. We have gotten assurances, and
we have seen in many instances good behavior and even sanctioning against those
elements of the Free Syrian Army that have acted improperly or against that code
of conduct. Nusrah, by contrast, has actually been involved in summary
executions of prisoners, for example. Whether the American steps today will
immediately curtail Nusrah’s capabilities, I don’t think they will, but I think
other nations that are involved in helping the armed opposition will now take
more seriously our concerns about the Nusrah Front and its expanding influence,
and it is important for countries to understand what al-Nusrah is and what it
represents. And it is important for the Syrians in the
political opposition and in the armed opposition to understand what Nusrah is
and what it represents. The time of a political transition is approaching. It’s
approaching quickly as events on the ground move. And it is important to
understand that Nusrah is an extremist group that cannot possibly be a part of
the political transition to a tolerant and free Syria. OPERATOR: Next we will go to the line of Mina
al-Oraibi. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Hi. This is a question also for
[Senior Administration Official Three]. If I can ask, do you expect a position
to be taken against Jebhat al-Nusrah Front in Marrakesh tomorrow from other
countries? And I also wanted to know, you said you have been in touch with the
FSA, so have you informed them in advance of this designation? And have they
voiced concerns to you about Jebhat al-Nusrah Front and what they’re doing on
the ground and whether that actually makes certain civilians in Syria wary of
the opposition? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: The
meeting in Marrakesh hasn’t started yet. The ministers have not arrived. And so
I don’t want to prejudge what the outcome will be. But what I would say is that
the previous Friends of the Syrian People meetings in Tunis, in Istanbul, and in
Paris, in each of those occasions, the partner states of the Friends of the
Syrian People have emphasized their support for a tolerant Syrian society. They
have emphasized their hope that the next Syrian government, after the Bashar
al-Assad regime ends, will be one that respects human rights and that treats all
Syrian citizens equally, without discrimination, and without prejudice because
of their ethnic or religious views. And I do not think that this Friends of
Syria conference will deviate from that strong support, that vision of the next
Syrian government, after the political transition begins. With respect to the Free Syrian Army, they
know our concern about the Nusrah Front. I have talked to them myself about it
and we have talked to others in the Syrian opposition over the past month. And
they know what our position is and I’ll leave it at that. OPERATOR: And you do have a question from the
line of Joyce Karam with Al Hayat. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Yes, hi. My question is also to
[Senior Administration Official Three]. Would this make it more likely that the
U.S. would arm non-extremist elements in the Syria opposition? And if the regime
targets al-Nusrah Front now, would the U.S. be okay with that? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I’m
sorry. I didn’t understand the second question. Can you say it again? QUESTION: Yeah. If the Assad regime goes
ahead and targets al-Nusrah Front, would you be okay with that? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I see.
Okay. With respect to your first question, we have always said with respect to
our policy on providing arms that, number one, we do not provide arms to the
Syrian opposition now. We have also said that the President has never ruled out
in the future providing arms, but we do not do it now. But number three, for us,
providing arms has to be done in a way that helps promote a political solution.
And until we understand how these arms promote a political solution, we do not
see how provision of arms is a good idea. With respect to the Assad regime targeting
al-Nusrah, I would simply say that we have condemned the Assad regime as a state
sponsor of terrorism. We have condemned the Assad regime’s incredibly brutal and
excessive, egregious acts of violence against the Syrian population. The news
from yesterday is just shocking. I’m not going to comment on when it targets al-Nusrah,
except to say that we condemn extremism on both sides. We condemn extremism that
is the Syrian regime, and we condemn extremism in the Syrian armed opposition.
Neither one of them presents a good – neither one of them presents a realistic
way forward for a Syrian political transition that wants to give the Syrian
people a system that will be free and respect the human rights of all Syrians.
MODERATOR: Operator, we’ve only got time for
one more question. OPERATOR: Okay. And that question will come
from Hannah Allam with McClatchy Newspaper. Please go ahead. QUESTION: Yes. Thanks for the call. I was
wondering, how do you disentangle the sort of Free Syrian Army rebel units from
Jebhat al-Nusrah fighters when there appears to be such close coordination on
the battlefield that’s opened the door to a scenario where somebody like the
Syrian Support Group could come under scrutiny for providing materiel support to
Jebhat al-Nusrah via these other more accepted rebel groups? And also has the
U.S. talked to the Qataris and the Saudis about cutting off Nusrah – not just
state funding but the individuals that are believed to be funding them from
those countries? Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I’m
going to answer the second question first about our diplomatic work. And then
with respect to the first question, I’ll make a comment or two on that, and then
– and/or [Senior Administration Official Two] may wish to add something in terms
of distinguishing. With respect to our diplomatic contacts, we
absolutely have made our views known about Nusrah to our international partners
that are working with us to find a solution, a peaceful and political solution
to the Syrian crisis. We absolutely have informed them, and they too know about
our views. I think it is also important here to note one
positive sign of how the Free Syrian Army itself has understood the threat that
Nusrah represents to the political transition in Syria, which is that during the
meetings in Antalya in Turkey last week where they were working to set up a
unified command for the Free Syrian Army, notably excluded from that meeting was
the Nusrah Front, and we think that was a wise decision. With respect to
distinguishing, as I mentioned in Antalya, the groups themselves know who Nusrah
is, and I think they are better understanding the threat that it represents. And so we will certainly continue our
discussions with them, which in many cases will be an effort to convince more
and more elements of the Free Syrian Army to stay away from al-Nusrah. But as I
mentioned, the meeting in Antalya was a step forward. I don’t know if [Senior
Administration Official One] or [Senior Administration Official Two] want to
comment on that business about distinguishing between elements of the Free
Syrian Army and other elements of – or I mean, Nusrah. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: I think
the only thing I would add to that is that we’ve taken an important step today
to help these groups make the – underscore the importance of the distinction,
and the most important thing that we can do in our own assistance is to continue
to, as we always do, to strive to ensure that our assistance doesn’t fall into
the wrong hands.SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Nothing
to add from here. MODERATOR: Thank you all for joining the call
today, and thank you to our officials, and have a good day. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Thank
you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Thank
you.

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Article 19 of the UN Human Rights Charter explicitly states:"Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers."